Foods Vegetarians Should Avoid

Vegetarians or Vegans may get seriously offended when they come to know that their favorite food or drink is actually not meat free. There are several companies which try to cheat or dodge the customers by taking benefit from local rules & regulations. Though in India it is mandatory to have a symbol on each & every food product which guides about its ingredients. But this system has some basic flaw one is the you should now the nomenclature of food ingredients like if food contains gelatin, then the ministry expects that the you know that it is extracted from animal bones. Some times manufacturers trick the customers for example fish is not an ingredient in a beer but the same is used in filtration of it. Most of the Orange drinks use fish gelatine. Reference.

Here we are shortlisted few Foods Vegetarians Should Avoid:

Surprising non vegetarian foods

1. Tropicana Pure Premium Orange juice with Omega-3

What makes it anti vegan & vegetarian: Fish Oil and Fish Gelatin

Minute maid juices are no different. You may reject this that how could a fruit juice have fish oil & gelatin, but this warning applies not only to orange juice, but to any juices or bread products that claim to be enriched with Omega-3. Fish Bladder is generally used for filtration of so-called natural fruit juices. This bladder is not an ingredient, but just a part of process.

2.Kraft Singles Cheese

What makes it anti vegan & vegetarian: Enzymes from animals

3. Red Candies or Gummy Bears

What makes it anti vegan & vegetarian: Beetles. Cochineal, The dye used to color these candies is extracted from boiling several insects.

4.McDonald’s Smoothie

What makes it anti vegan & vegetarian: Gelatin

The company itself claims that even their french fries sold outside India is not vegetarian. They use Beef Tallow as a cooking medium. In name of “natural ingredients” they have been found using beef flavoring. Vegetarians should stay away from such companies.For details search for “McDonald’s hindu lawsuit” Reference 1.Reference 2

5.Refined White Sugar

What makes it anti vegan & vegetarian: Bone char

6.Varakh (Silver Foil) or Vark

What makes it anti vegan & vegetarian: It is made by placing thin metal strips of silver between the intestines of a slaughtered animal and hammered into a thin foil.

7. Maggi

What makes it anti vegan & vegetarian: It contains MSG (Monosodium glutamate) used as a flavor enhancer.MSG is made using Bactosoytone, itself made from soy protein using a catalyst enzyme porcine (taken from intestine of Pig). Chemically this catalyst never goes in the molecular structure of Bactosoytone, hence it’s Vegetarian for Nestle. MSG itself is a reason for several skin allergies. Maggi has also launched a non-MSG variant which is known as Vegetable Atta-Maggie, but that’s just a marketing gimmick.

BBQ-Flavored Chips

What makes it anti vegan & vegetarian: Chicken Fat

Some potato chips are also unsafe for vegans & vegetarians. Though not available in India. But vegetarians should take care before having potato chips.